The Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB) in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) organised a conference on Proficiency Testing (PT) and inter-laboratory testing for assessors and laboratories on 26 Novembe

Top academics yesterday pointed out that integration of research and technology which is somewhat alien to the accounting profession needs to be inculcated into the curriculum to remain relevant and face disruption amidst unknown challenges in the di

By P. Samarasiri
I read several official comments made by the Central Bank (CB) that it has an additional space of borrowing of Rs. 310 b under the Active Liability Management Act (LMA) (certified on 28 March) in addition to the annual borrowing limi

Nine members of the delegation from Sri Lanka visited Russia to participate at the International Volunteer Forum, which was held on 2-5 December, in Moscow.
Sergey Kiriyenko, the First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russi

A motion to summon five Secretaries to Ministries before Parliamentary Committees for questioning has been handed over to the Speaker of the House, Parliamentarian Patali Champika Ranawaka said yesterday.
The motion to summon the five Secretaries, in

President Maithripala Sirisena has openly admitted that his Prime Minister appointee Mahinda Rajapaksa has attempted to bribe Parliamentarians to show majority in the House and said that the current crisis is a result of his failure to gather 113 MPs

The UNP said yesterday that it was opposed to the proposal made by President Maithripala Sirisena to amend the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
UNP MP Ajith P. Perera told a media briefing that it was likely that the President had wanted the 19th

The police seized a large cache of weapons and ammunition yesterday hidden in a house in Beruwela and arrested two people.
The Kalutara Police Division law enforcement unit has seized 13 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition from the house o

The new Diya Man Bridge, constructed in parallel with the Gini Petti Bridge in Polonnaruwa, was inspected by President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday.
This bridge, situated in Wijayabhahupura in Polonnaruwa, crosses over a canal which supplies wate

By Shanika Sriyananda
The military, which has expedited releasing military-held lands in the Eastern Province, will hand over five plots of land in the Trincomalee District to the legitimate owners today.
The five plots – five acres in Kalampattu i

A team has left for Hong Kong to recover the voice recordings deleted from Namal Kumara’s phone, stated Police Media Spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekara.
The two officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and one official from the Governme

Three persons died in two separate road accidents in Mount Lavinia and Ratmalana when a drunk motorist ran over several vehicles.
Police say seven others, including two children, sustained injuries in the accidents.
According to the police, the same

National Development Bank PLC emerged Winner under the banking sector at the National Business Excellence Awards 2018, hosted by the National Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka (NCCSL) in addition to emerging as the Runner-Up for Excellence in Corporate

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) is organising an event to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
The event will be held under the theme ‘The world made anew: The UDHR in our lives; Chi

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday charged the United National Party (UNP) and its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe could be held in Contempt of Court for occupying Temple Trees even after the Interim Order issued by the Court of Appeal, which s

Skeletal remains of 266 people and human bones have been unearthed so far from the mass grave found in Mannar in Northern Sri Lanka since excavations began on 28 May this year, according to the Senior Judicial Medical Officer Shaminda Rajapaksa.
Raja

The police yesterday arrested the owner of the trawler that transported 231kg of heroin valued over Rs. 2.7 billion in Yatiyantota.
The owner of the multi-day trawler, 44-year old Dinayadura Duleep Samantha de Silva, a resident of Beruwala, was arres

Sri Lanka Railways has commenced special train services to facilitate travellers during school vacation.
It said that the special train services on the main line will be operated until 5 January 2019.
Having begun the services yesterday, the special

By S.S. Selvanayagam
The Supreme Court yesterday deferred the Contempt of Court case against MP Ranjan Ramanayake for 26 February.
The Rules was already read to the Accused Respondent Ranjan Ramanayake. He had pleaded not guilty.
The Attorney Ge

The United Service Institution of India (USI) conducted an international security seminar on 1 and 2 November in New Delhi with participation of senior level scholars, subject matter experts and a host of Indian military officers. There were particip

The Sri Lanka Navy has commenced its 68th Anniversary celebrations, giving prominence to religious observances. According to Navy media, an all-night ‘Pirith’ chanting and alms-giving ceremony were held at SLNS Gemunu in Welisara on 30 November a

The All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) yesterday said that they are committed stakeholders of Sri Lanka’s democracy and not striving to promote United National Party Leader MP Ranil Wickremesinghe as an individual.
“We do not have any personal pas

The Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL) under the Ministry of Defence was invited for the 6th Asia Think Tank Summit held in Bali, Indonesia from 21-23 November.
Director General Asanga Abeyagoonasekera was invited as a panellis

Nine members of the delegation from Sri Lanka visited Russia to participate at the International Volunteer Forum, which was held on 2-5 December, in Moscow.
Sergey Kiriyenko, the First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russi

In a desperate attempt to defend its decision to vote in favour of the 19th Amendment, United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP W. D. J. Senewiratne yesterday said the decision was made on President Maithripala Sirisena’s special request, argui

President Maithripala Sirisena said that the development process and the public welfare services should not be inefficient for any reason and that public officials are responsible for implementing programs despite current political turmoil, the Presi

The book, ‘Sajith Premadasa: The People’s Leader/The Legacy of Ranasinghe Premadasa’, is scheduled to be launched in January 2019 (ISBN 978-955-51312-6-1). The book consists of 12 chapters, 300 pages, a hard cover and jacket of the same artwork

A mammoth heroin haul of 231.5 kilos valued at more than Rs. 2,778 million--the second largest heroin haul in Sri Lanka--was seized by the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) officials in the seas off Beruwala Wednesday night - Pic by Kushan Pathiraja

Addressing the Meeting of the State Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), Sri Lanka Permanent Representative in Geneva Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez stated that Sri Lanka accorded high priority to the effective implementation of the BWC - the

Sri Lanka acceded to the Mine Ban Convention, very well known as the Ottawa Convention, in 2017 which came into force from 1 June. The objective of the Mine Ban Convention is to end the suffering and casualties caused by the Anti-Personal Mines (APM)

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Today's Columnists

Every morning, I play voyeur and watch that nice neighbourhood uncle pluck flowers to pooja-fy his guardian deities. He is quite religious about it. And industrious to boot. The problem, of course, is that he doesn’t restrict himself to his garden.

China last month signed a $1.3 billion contract for Myanmar’s Kyaukpyu port project. The figures doing rounds in media in the run up to this port deal were as high as $7.9 billion which had ignited enormous curiosities.
The Chinese had been negoti

In yesterday’s column, I argued a case for not impeaching the chief executive of the coup that has left our country situation in ruins. At the end of a pitched battle between the forces of unconstitutional ambition on one hand and democratic resist

In the backdrop where the recent amendment to the country’s supreme law is called in question, it may be appropriate to recall that the passage of the new Inland Revenue (IR) Act through Parliament was far more controversial. Nevertheless, the new